Fired exec says no legal action against WellStar

WellStar Health System and its former top executive officially parted ways Thursday when a severance agreement took effect, ending a three-year relationship with the company.

Gregory Simone was abruptly fired by WellStar’s board Sept. 2 without explanation. Simone, 63, had served as the system’s president and chief executive officer since June 2007.

“There has been no communication or reaching out to me from WellStar and it remains that they fired me without cause,” Simone told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday. “There is no justification and perhaps their action wasn’t justified.”

At the time of the firing, board chairman Randall Bentley, a Marietta attorney, provided no details, calling it a personnel matter.

Bentley did not respond to a request for comment Thursday and, through an assistant, referred questions to WellStar’s communications department.

“WellStar does not discuss any type of personnel issue regarding any employee or former employee and this is no exception," said Michelle M. Robinson, WellStar Health System spokesperson in a statement.

Simone’s severance agreement with WellStar includes a clause allowing for his termination without cause. He received $2.76 million covering severance, the balance of an executive retirement plan account and the present value of his pension plan benefit. He said he does not plan to take any legal action against WellStar.

“It was surprising that I had been there for three years and WellStar is performing at a level that is the best in the history of the organization. And it makes you wonder if they were doing that well, why did they do that?” Simone said.

His firing followed the Aug. 31 termination of Bonnie Wilson, another WellStar executive and general counsel. At the time, Bentley did not say whether the two firings were related, but a press release issued by the system announcing both terminations led to rumors of a possible extramarital relationship, Simone said.

“Was that just a piece of total incompetence in releasing that information? Or was that a calculated move to insinuate a relationship?” he said. “The insinuation was groundless and vicious and it hurt me and it hurt Bonnie Wilson.”

Simone has not yet determined his next professional move.

WellStar and Bentley have said Simone’s firing was not related to a six-month Medicare and Medicaid investigation. In August, the hospital system agreed to pay $2.7 million to settle allegations that it improperly billed the state Medicaid system, resulting in excessive payments to the system. The hospital system said a flaw in claims processing software caused the problem.